1. Field of the Invention
A cane operable in one aspect for supporting an ambulatory person and, in another aspect, as a musical instrument.
2. Prior Art
Canes for assisting a person to walk are well known in the art. Such canes generally comprise an elongate staff with a handle portion on one end of the staff and a tip at the opposing end. The staff may be solid or hollow, and made from a variety of materials. Metal tubes, such as tubular aluminum, are presently preferred materials used for forming a cane. While such canes have been modified to serve a purpose other than support, such as, for example, to be used as a weapon, the cane has not been adapted for use as a musical instrument.
Disabled people requiring the use of a cane in order to be ambulatory have one hand dedicated to holding onto the cane. The other hand must remain available for routine tasks such as opening doors and answering the telephone. Accordingly, it is difficult for such people to carry a musical instrument when they leave the home. It would be desirable to provide a walking cane that, when not being used for support, can be used for practicing or otherwise playing a musical instrument such as a guitar. Such a modified, multipurpose cane can be used, for example, for practicing guitar while sitting in a waiting room or waiting at a bus stop.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a musical cane comprising, in combination: (a) a cane operable for providing support for a person and having a handle portion adapted to be gripped by the person""s hand, a tip portion and a hollow, elongate body portion therebetween; and (b) a musical instrument affixed to said body portion.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a musical cane meeting the above objective wherein said musical instrument comprises a plurality of tuning pegs rotatably attached to said body portion, a nut rigidly attached to said body portion, a notched bridge either adjustably or rigidly mounted on said body portion between said tunable pegs and said nut, and a plurality of strings, each string having one end attached to said nut, and the opposing end of each string attached to a tuning peg comprising said plurality of tuning pegs. The musical cane preferably further comprises a hole in said hollow, elongate body portion disposed between said bridge and said nut and wherein said tip portion has a rubber cap attached thereto.
The features of the invention believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. However the invention itself, both as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: